In this series, homeowner-builders frequently take old industrial buildings, dairies, barns, water towers etc. and incorporate or rebuild these structures into a new home. I like the idea that what is old can be made new again. I am very interested in the concept of conserving a well designed building made to last and reusing it, instead of discarding the labour, materials and design.
As someone who hates to see buildings, that have stood the test of time, shipped off to a landfill, I am truly inspired by these grand designs that conserves and respects the past. Not only is that a worthwhile endeavour but it shows a perseverance that requires contractors to do things in ways that might never have seemed possible.
Where I live, houses are demolished routinely to make way for gigantic infills that are out of scale in the neighbourhood. Small houses are the ones that get the axe when most of them could be fixed up or improved upon without removing the whole house with the bricks, woodwork and craftsmanship that have graced a street for 80 to 100 years.
Often the new builds in this series are grandiose and very expensive but they build upon the existing design and materials. Also, I have to admire how people can envision a modern home using the bones of an old building whether it is a schoolhouse or country church.
None of the self builds in the series is ever abandoned or do owners ever regret the final product, which is always a triumph. For that reason, I expect these people are carefully selected and coached through to the successful conclusion. Whatever the case, the program is driven by the hopes and dreams of owners and not an industry that encourages cookie cutter designs that lack imagination, do not respect the past and are not environmentally responsible.
